Citing medical source, AFP reported that one man was seriously injured by a live shot to the chest, while another 29 received lesser wounds from a mixture of live fire and rubber bullets in a protest in Hebron.

Palestinian riots in the West Bank (Photo: AFP)

The army said that soldiers were attacked by about 300 violent protesters, who rolled burning tires and threw a petrol bomb and rocks.

Palestinian riots in the West Bank (Photo: AFP)

"The soldiers responded by firing riot disposal means," a spokeswoman said, adding that those means included 0.22 caliber rifle fire.

Earlier, about 2,000 people, many waving green Hamas banners marched through the city.

There were similar protests in Ramallah and outside the northern West Bank city of Nablus, while on the outskirts of Bethlehem the Israeli police said that "hundreds" of protesters - some masked, others carrying model rockets - threw stones and petrol bombs at border police, who dispersed them, also with "riot disposal means."

There were no reports of serious injuries on either side in that incident.